Friday, September 11, 2015

The Ins, Outs, Dos and Dont's of Platinum Blonde Hair Care

Thought I'd do a beauty post this round involving my rituals and routines regarding hair care. I get so many questions on a weekly basis on my light hair color that I decided to dedicate a whole post about this! I hope you enjoy :)

First Off, The Ol' Do's and Dont's List

DO consult a professional before getting wild and crazy at home

You may be tempted to try bleaching at home after watching a handful of Youtube videos, but please, for the love of God just DON'T DO IT. Hair color involves crazy science that is best left to the professionals. Trust me. I used boxed color and at home highlighting kits for years, and my hair got mega effed up. I found myself in salons to fix what I've done to myself more often than not, so just skip that entirely, OK?

DON'T Forget to factor in your financial situation

It can get freakin' expensive to maintain blonde hair! Personally, I love about an inch of dark root, but even still I find myself marching back into the salon every 6-7 weeks for a root touch up. On average, visits can be $125-$200 for a professional root touch up and toner.

DO understand that this can be very time consuming

The initial appointment can take HOURS depending on how dark your natural hair is and what your end goal is. I've heard horror stories of dark hair taking up to 8 whole hours, and even then that individual needed a second appointment weeks later to lighten again. Since my hair is naturally a dark blonde, it takes roughly 2 hours from start to finish. Not terrible, but that's a large chunk of my afternoon!

DON'T skimp on hair care products and maintenance

Olaplex and Morrocan Oil are the bomb.com but it's pricy for a small amount. Ask your hairstylist about what he or she recommends and find what works for you! I have a 3 step system now that involves deep conditioner, Morrocan oil and a leave in conditioner every time I wash and style. Not so bad...

DO invest in a wide tooth comb

These things are amazing for use in and out of the shower. It's easier on my hair than an old fashioned brush and I find that I lose less hair when I detangle with one of these bad boys.

DON'T wash your hair every single day

Your hair will be drier and weaker than ever before, so invest in a good dry shampoo to touch up greasy roots and give your hair a break from washing and drying.

DO read at home and understand the mechanics behind bleaching your hair

I believe that understanding what's actually happening when you bleach your hair can either solidify or persuade your decision. More information below!!!

DON'T blow dry or use heat styling tools often

Air dry as much as possible or use a cooler setting on your blow dryer with a thermal protectant spray. Embrace the natural texture and waves of your hair to keep damage to a minimum.

DO have fun with it!

ok that was a corny "Do", but you know, when done properly it can be extremely eye catching and striking on anyone! I've never gotten so many comments on my hair from men and women. It's actually become quite a conversation piece which is great news since I'm actually really awkward in real life.

Now, Let's Talk SCIENCE

You know, there's no way around this so I'm just going to say it... Bleaching totally sucks for your hair, and here's why:

Your hair gets it's color from melanin which is also responsible for eye and skin color. When you bleach your hair, the bleach penetrates (heh heh) the shaft of your hair and breaks down the color molecules and removes them so they wash right out. Bleaching also breaks down the natural fatty acids of the hair shaft, which weakens and damages your hair over time. So with that being said, the goal should be to lessen the contact time of bleach on your hair AND when touching up roots, do not overlap the bleach onto our already lightened locks! This may cause your hair to break which is yet another reason to see a professional for root touch ups!

Also, while we're discussing science-y things, remember this little guy from elementary school or art class?

So this color wheel will help me transition to my next point of obtaining that icy, pale blonde that is so hard to achieve. Blonde hair gets hella brassy, which is not exactly pleasing to the eye. This color wheel shows that purple and violet is the exact opposite of yellow and orange tones which means these colors actually cancel each other out. The coolness of the violet works to neutralize the warm tones of orange and yellow and it cools down.

Brassiness can come from exposure to sunlight, sulfates and parabens in shampoos, ocean water, minerals in water and several other things. Not to worry though, that yellow/orange color can be combatted with violet shampoos, conditioners and toners that will neutralize that yellowness.

Violet Shampooand conditioner is a simple way to banish a small amount of brassiness. So far, my favorite combo is Clairol Shimmer Lights. This stuff is super pigmented which is great but be careful! I've stained many shower curtains, walls and even my fingernails get weird and purple sometimes. I will admit, the shampoo can be very drying if used every time you wash, but if you only use it every other wash, you're good. Also, the conditioner is extremely pigmented but doesn't condition well on it's own. If you mix one part normal conditioner with one part this one, it applies and spreads much better on showered hair. Leave the shampoo on for a few minutes while washing, and leave conditioner on for five or so.

Olaplex is the holy grail for dry, damaged hair. There's a 3 step system, in case you're curious that starts off as a bleach additive (request it from your hair stylist if they carry it!) then it's applied as a conditioner POST bleaching, and finally you can use it right at home to condition and soften the hair once a week.

Coconut oil is also amazing for deep conditioning! Just scoop up a good handful and evenly distribute on the ends of your hair like you're making a pony tail. Tie up off of your shoulders and leave this on for a good hour before shampooing and conditioning normally.

Manic Panic Virgin Snow is a great conditioning hair mask that deposits a light blue/violet color to minimize brassiness. Work this through clean, towel dried hair and leave on for 30 minutes to an hour (or more).

A Wide tooth comb is perfect for distributing conditioner through your hair while wet. My hair breaks easily so this is great to use in the shower and to detangle later on in the day

Baby powder is a great alternative to dry shampoo! This little guy was about $2 in the travel section of Target and I take it everywhere in case my hair gets greasy in between washings. My hair is so light, the white powder blends in but still be througough like you would normal dry shampoo.

Rub aggressively with finger tips while concentrating on the roots, then brush out to the ends and style as usual! Works like a charm every time and it smells fresh, like babies I suppose.

You know, that's pretty much all the advice I have! Here's a hair chain I recently purchased from Anthropologie that I was just dying to show off. Sorry, It totally doesn't even go well with my shirt because I was too anxious to show it off.

Let me know what you think and comment below if you have any additional tips or tricks! I would love to hear your thoughts! Also, would you ever consider bleaching your hair or going platinum any time soon? Why or why not? I hope you enjoyed my post, please have a great weekend :)

10 comments:

Awesome post!! I did one like this recently for pastel pink maintenance. People don't realize how much friggin' work goes into having a unique hair color. Totes worth it in my opinion though.xoxoxEmilyhttp://HausofHounds.com

Oh my gosh! Now I HAVE to check it out! You're right, Having unnatural colors can such a maintenance nightmare but it's so rewarding in the end. I bet you get so many compliments on your cotton candy hair!

I'm so happy to have found your blog! I know you're not posting as much AND I know I'm commenting on an old post, but it's the post the led me to your blog so I thought it was appropriate 😂 I have gone platinum TODAY after a fair while of questioning whether or not it was the right move. Now that it's done I am absolutely in LOVE with it - but then started freaking out (as I'm wont to do) about its upkeep and the possibility of any little thing going wrong... so naturally I turned to the Internet for guidance 😉 this post just made me super happy with all of your tips and while I'm still nervous as heck that I'm going to screw my beautiful new hair up somehow, it's so reassuring go know that there's a whole community out there offering support! Then I got to reading some of your more recent posts and wanted to write you to say I know a lot about how awful long distance is - my boyfriend of 5 years and I have spent a year and a half of that time on other halves of our country (South Africa) because I'm still in college, and it's the WORST - so commiserations in that arena! Plus my mom is originally San Franciscan and I love cats - Carl is a total cutie 😆

Thank you so much!!! It's my first time going platinum and I don't have any friends with this color. So your a real life saver!!! Oh and nice chain... I love fashionable things. I look forward to reading up on the wealth of knowledge you have to spare. X.o's

Hi! I'm currently trying to achieve your color but in an ombré style. I'm having trouble knowing which is the right shade of bleached hair I must get to in order to dye it platinu . I'm a dark haired girl and have been gradually bleaching my hair. And very carefull . So far so good. Just need to know how much more bleaching I need done. Also what color roots do you recommend?

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